Sepulchre

by Jay Harez

  The sound caused Alonzo to pause with the door partially opened and peer outside. He stepped outside of the office and heard the flutter above him. Leaf descended on Alonzo driving his heal into the top of Alonzo’s head. Alonzo staggered backwards and Leaf landed on the floor in a crouch. Alonzo produced the machete and swung blindly. The blade clanged as it struck the metal door to the office. Leaf was quicker to recover his footing although he was certain he had twisted or possibly sprained his ankle. Leaf delivered an uppercut to Alonzo’s chin that nearly lifted the taller man off of the ground but he felt several of the tiny bones in his hand snap when he made contact and he didn’t care.

  Alonzo had committed one of the few cardinal sins that existed in their world with his betrayal. As far as Leaf was concerned, there was no cost too high to see that he met the fate he deserved.

  The moment the fight between Alonzo and Leaf started, Fetus began furiously pulling at his cuffs. Although he was relieved to see Leaf had stayed behind, his hopes began to ebb as quickly as they had risen. The cuffs, unlike the rest of the depot, were new and in good condition, and simply would not yield. Since the pipes were old and likely corroded, Fetus thought they would give way easily. He braced himself with one foot against the bowl of the toilet and was jerking furiously at the pipes when the toilet fell over on its side.

  Constant gunfire rang throughout the depot mixed with the mercenaries shouting ‘demonio!’ and ‘alto!’ between screams. The number of voices continued to increase and so did the gunfire. There were screams of terror and agony. Alonzo and Leaf were unnoticed as the fracas at the other end of the warehouse intensified.

  The first rays of sunlight came through the shattered pains in the upper part of the depot.

  DAWN

  The creature moved with lightning speed as it tore through the first, second and third group of mercenaries with animal savagery. The limbs and heads of the first seventeen men were strewn about the floor of the warehouse. The area where the mercenaries and the mummy had clashed was thick with the smells of Petrol, blood, human waste, and cordite. The next wave of men, soldiers this time, witnessed the panorama of violence in its full glory.

  The sunbeams appeared almost solid as the dust and smoke passed through them. The creature now stood at its full height of just over six feet and rippled with muscle. Its upper torso and head were covered with blood. Its full head of hair was matted with and hung down to its shoulders. Its head had transformed from a skull with tightly drawn skin into the visage of a grinning psychopath. The man the soldiers saw was holding a machete in one hand and a human heart in the other. As the creature surveyed the dozen or so soldiers, it gingerly took a bite out of the heart as you would a fruit then tossed it aside, as if the taste wasn’t to its liking. It seemed to smile and began walking toward the group, twirling the machete.

  Alonzo and Leaf grappled on the floor outside of the office. Leaf had found a knife and Alonzo was bleeding from various cuts but neither man seemed to have the advantage. Fetus separated the plumbing from the back of the toilet and ran toward the struggling pair. He kicked at Alonzo’s head repeatedly until he felt his shoe make contact with the soft tissue of the man’s eye. Alonzo shrieked in pain drawing the attention of yet another group of soldiers who had just entered through the hole in the wall.

  This last group stood frozen deciding whether to support the other soldiers facing the monster or attend to the three-man melee happening at the north end of the warehouse. The north and south hangar doors opened almost simultaneously. Leaf turned to Fetus and tried to wave him away from the injured man.

  “Run boy!” Leaf rasped. “Get out and far away from here,” Leaf was on his knees exhausted from the fight.

  Just then the latest wave of soldiers made a decision. Half of them went to support their brothers in arms and had begun firing mercilessly at the blood-soaked and bandaged hulk while the other half began firing in the direction of Leaf, Alonzo and Fetus.

  With his last bit of strength, Leaf stood and shoved Fetus back toward the office.

  “Lock the door and use the phone to call the farm. Get he…” Leaf was cut short as a bullet punched a hole through his chest. He fell forward with his last words caught in his throat.

  Fetus paused for only an instant to acknowledge that Leaf was gone. He darted into the office and from memory repeated the actions of Alonzo with the multiple locks and the wheel-hatch. He could hear Alonzo banging on the door and cursing him.

  The gunfire could still be heard from the other end of the warehouse and Fetus looked around the office for a solution. He didn’t see the Mac-10 that Alonzo had been carrying with him and without it he knew he could never get out of the office. When he paused to think, he realized that he wasn’t going to get out of this alive no matter what he did. Alonzo would take his revenge for the kick to the eye. Leaf wouldn’t be around to protect him or even talk to him anymore. His short-lived friendship with EggHead was already becoming a memory as the panic and fear began to set in.

  The warehouse was in chaos. The last groups of soldiers had entered the fray from the north and south entrances. The soldiers who entered the south had to make their way around the parked trailer. When they did they were met with friendly fire from the previous groups who were firing at the reanimated and violently insane scientist. The smaller trucks were being started at intervals. Some men were still trying to hold off the creature while others were focused on getting the cargo out. The Captain had entered from the north and was shouting for his men to stop firing because of the barrels of petrol stationed throughout.

  It may have been an accidentally dropped cigarette with its embers still glowing or something intentional, regardless a small fire had started.

  “What is going on?!” the Captain shouted at Alonzo, who was still focused on the steel door of the office.

  “That little shit is inside with my money! That’s what’s going on and your men are stealing the cargo!” shouted Alonzo.

  The invading soldiers took three of the trucks to form a single file line and drove past Alonzo and the Captain as they made their way out of the north hangar doors.

  The gunfire at the other end of the warehouse abruptly stopped. The Captain and Alonzo looked to see three more of the smaller trucks being driven out of the hole made by the semi. Running closely behind the trucks were the dozen or so remaining soldiers.

  Walking toward the two men through the thickening smoke was the creature. As the Captain had feared, small fires had started in numerous places where petrol had mixed with leaked motor oil. All of the creature’s remaining tattered bandages were charred or smoldering from the fires. Its frame was bulging with muscle. Its broad chest was hairless and as sculpted as the rest of its semi-naked body. The blood of the mercenaries and soldiers had begun to dry, creating a blotchy maroon coating on its skin. Its hair was matted and had grown even longer. It still held the machete in one hand and the other hand opened and closed methodically, as if it were still around the neck of its last victim.

  The Captain drew his sidearm and put two rounds into the center of the creature’s chest. The bullets past through the target’s body and exited out the back. The wounds closed behind the bullets and the mummified man-thing continued to advance. His eyes darted back and forth between the two men and his expression began to show signs of curiosity.

  Fetus picked up the phone and learned the line was dead for real this time. He looked at the backpack. Fetus didn’t know how much money was in there, but he knew it was a great deal. He also knew it would do him no good. More men were running around and shooting in the warehouse.

  The pounding on the door started. He could hear Alonzo now offering forgiveness and a bright future within his organization. He could hear another man shouting also. Alonzo was still making promises when Fetus glanced at the dislodged toilet.

  Inspiration hit him as he remembered the movie where the guy crawled out of prison through the sewer. Everyone had told him it was impossib
le because the pipes were too small for a man to crawl through. However Fetus could fit. Fetus pushed the toilet aside and stomped on the brittle laminated tile that made up the offices flooring. He made the hole just big enough for him to stick his head into through the floor. The smell of methane gas was overpowering, but Fetus didn’t pretend he had a choice. Fetus lowered himself down into the drain pipe. He was in the pipe and down on all fours before he remembered the backpack. With the satchel of cash Fetus began his crawl towards safety and perhaps the life he wanted.

  EPILOGUE

  There wasn’t an investigation of the incident at the depot to speak of. One brief mention by the BBC suggested that two ritualistic murders had taken place and according to sources familiar with the situation, the head of a high ranking military officer was found along with the head of a local drug kingpin impaled on a spike. Authorities suspected marijuana trafficking.

  Two years later Fetus had taken the name Able Trinidad because he thought it sounded exotic. After taking the tests for his preliminary schooling and earning his diploma, Fetus applied to Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara Medical School in Jalisco. Once accepted he proved to be a natural learner and absorbed everything. His grades were among the top in his class and by his second year, he received an invitation to join the advanced medical and pharmaceutical research team, subsequent to a successful interview.

  Fetus sat in the office in front of an expensive desk and waited for the Director of Research to arrive.

  “Don’t turn around and don’t say anything, I want you to listen,” said a powerful voice from behind him. The man speaking placed a large, but gentle hand on Fetus’s shoulder. “You may think you recognize me. Something may trigger a memory or cause you to suspect we have some past affiliation. Keep in mind that the position you are applying for does not allow for flights of fancy or the telling of outlandish tales. This is a place of science.” the man said.

  Abel nodded. The man stepped past him and took a seat behind the massive desk. The Director’s eyes blazed with a zealot’s fervor.

  “Well then, it seems we have an understanding. From this point forward you will be my personal assistant, aiding me in some of the more, irregular work that I must do,” the said. The Director paused, lit a pipe, and looked every bit the academic were it not for the steely muscular frame beneath his lab coat.

  “If you can do this to my satisfaction, I will make sure you have a promising career in medicine and I promise, I will never refer to you as Fetus,” he concluded extending his massive hand.

  Abel looked at the nameplate on the desk for the fifth time. Then he looked at the hand being offered. Abel hadn’t thought about the farm, the depot or Leaf for a long time. He hadn’t wanted to. Sometimes when he was alone late at night he wondered if any of it had been real.

  Abel was scared, terrified even, but his thirst for knowledge was greater than his fear. Abel couldn’t imagine the depth and scope of this man’s experience. He tried to imagine all there was to learn if he agreed to the Directors terms.

  “Thank you Director. I look forward to working for you,” Abel said as he shook the hand of Miguel LLull de Santiago, the world’s oldest living alchemist.

  - fin -